Railway draft gearing



June l2, 1934. M R. HANSEN RAILWAY DRAFT GEARING Filed July 16. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l M. R. HANSEN RAILWAY DRAFT GEARING June l2, 1934.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 16, 1931 Patented June 12, 1934 PATENT OFFICE RAILWAY DRAFT GEARING Merritt R. Hansen, Columbus, Ohio, assignor to The Buckeye Steel Castings Company, Columbus, Ohio Application July 16, 1931, Serial No. 551,228

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in railway draft gear, and more especially to novel means for connecting a yoke to a coupler shank.

Some cars have been built to take a forged li Vertical yoke which is riveted to the coupler, and it. has been found desirable to replace the forged yoke with a vertically keyed cast steel yoke. Of course, it is also desirable to make the change over as economical as possible in order that as many of the old parts which are satisfactory may be retained. In accordance with `the present invention, the coupler can be retained as it is only necessary to form a slot in the same for the vertical key. This can be done by burning out the metal which spaces the holes of the two rivets that previously connected the yoke and coupler shank. As many of the cars have limited head room for the application of a cast steel yoke, I have designed a novel key and slot 2o construction to accommodate the change over.

Therefore, the primary purpose of the invention is to provide a vertical key and slot construction designed to accommodate the change over, and in which the key will cooperate with a thin yoke strap at the top and a thicker one at the bottom, the bearing contact, however, of the key with the yoke arms being substantially equal at the top and bottom and permitting the coupler shank to swivel.

With the foregoing objects outlined and with other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described in detail, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view partly in elevation, of my improved construction.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same partly in horizontal section.

. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the key.

Referring to the drawings, 5 designates the body of the improved key, and 6 the head portion thereof. The sides of the head may converge toWard the rear end, as shown, or be parallel to the side surfaces of the body of the key, but in either event, the side surfaces of the head are in vertical planes and are arranged between the front and rear curved ends of the head.

The cast steel yoke 'I has an upper strap 8 and a lower strap 9, and the coupler shank 10 is pivotally connected to the straps by means of the vertical key due to the fact that the key bears only against the front ends of the yoke strap slots.

As mentioned before, the upper strap 8 is relatively thinner than the forward end portion of the lower strap because of lack of head room under the top cover plate ll, and it will be noted that the head of the key is counter-sunk in and contacts at its front end only with the top strap for less vertical height than does the front end of the body of the key with the strap 9, but due to the fact that the head of the key is widened, the actual bearing contact of the head with the top strap is substantially equal to the bearing contact of the body of the key with the strap 9.

Due to the lack of head room, it will be appreciated that in the usual construction, this closeness will not allow enough room for a key with the ordinary head at its upper end, and if there was sufficient room for the head, the bearing area between the key and the yoke would be reduced, due to the relative thinness of `the upper strap compared with the lower strap. In accordance with my invention, I provide a head for the key to retain it in position, and use this head for ample bearing contactbetween the key and the upper yoke strap, and the key and yoke strap slots are so proportioned that the area of contact between the head of the key and the relatively thin upper yoke strap is about the same as the bearing area between the body of the key and the thicker bottom strap of the yoke. This is possible because the key is wider at its head. Consequently, the area of the cross section of the key resisting shear is the same at the top and bottom, so that although it is necessary to have a thinner upper strap, no bearing area between the yoke and key is lost by this condition.

Referring again to the drawings, it will be 5` noted that 12 designates the usual striking casting, 13 the center sills, 14 the yoke carrier, 15 the center brace, and rear draft lugs, and lG'the front draft lugs.

While I have disclosed what I now consider to be a preferred embodiment of the invention in such manner that the same may be readily understood by those skilled in the art, I am aware that changesmay be made in the details disclosed, without departing from the spirit of the invention, as expressed in the claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Railway draft gearing comprising a vertical yoke having upper and lower straps provided 119 with slots elongated lengthwise of the straps, a coupler shank having a slot, and a vertical key having an elongated head, the key, with the ex-v ception of its head, being of uniform cross section throughout its length and being arranged in said. slots, said head extending through the slot of the upper yoke strap and being prevented from moving downwardly by said coupler shank, the side surfaces of the head of the key converging toward the rear of the head and being normally spaced from the side surfaces of the slot of the upper yoke strap, the key being turnable with the shank and bearing at its upper and lower end portions against the front ends of the slots of the yoke straps, whereby the key in turning with said shank will turn in the slots of the straps.

2. Railway draft gearing comprising a vertical yoke having upper and lower straps provided with slots elongated lengthwise of the straps, each of said slots having parallel side surfaces, a coupler shank having a slot, and a vertical key arranged in said slots and having an enlarged head eX- tending through the slot of the upper yoke strap and resting on said shank, said head being elongated lengthwise of said straps and having rearwardly converging side surfaces normally spaced from the side surfaces of the slot of the upper strap to permit said head to turn in the last mentioned slot while bearing against the front surface of the latter, the body of the key snugly engaging the surfaces of the slot of the shank to permit the key to turn with said shank, and the side surfaces of the body of the key being normally out of contact with the side surfaces of the slot of the lower yoke strap to permit horizontal angling of the coupler shank relatively to the yoke.

3. Railway draft gearing comprising center sills, a cover plate at the tops of the sills, a cast steel vertical yoke arranged between said sills and having an upper strap arranged in close proximity to the cover plate and a thicker lower strap, said straps having vertically disposed slots, a coupler shank extending between the straps and. having a slot, and. a one-piece key connecting the shank and yoke and arranged in said slots, the head of the key being elongated and wider than the body portion thereof and extending through the upper strap, the head and lower end of the key being turnable in the yoke slots and the key being arranged to turn with the coupler shank, the front of the head of the key contacting with the upper strap throughout an area substantially equal to the contact of the front of the body of the key with the lower strap.

4. Railway draft gearing comprising a vertical yoke having upper and lower straps provided with elongated slots, a coupler shank having an elongated slot, and a one-piece vertical key having an elongated head, the key, with the exception of its head, being of uniform elliptical cross section throughout its length and arranged in said slots, said head extending through the slot of the upper yoke strap and bearing at its front end only against the front surface of the slot, the side 100 surfaces of the head of the key lying in vertical planes and converging toward the rear of the head and being normally spaced from the side surfaces and rear end of the slot of the upper yoke strap, said key being movable with the 105 coupler shank and turnable in the slots of the yoke straps, and the enlarged head of the key abutting against the coupler shank for preventing dropping of the key through the slots, whereby the use of a lock for the key is eliminated, the 110 front of the head of the key contacting with the upper strap throughout an area substantially equal to the contact of the front of the body of the key with the lower strap.

Y MERRITT R. HANSEN. 

